Influenza

Stuffy nose, fever, chills, cough, muscle aches, and sore throat fill the air as you walk around the shopping malls in the pouring rain. The beloved winter has cursed the population with viral infections that cannot be avoided (or at least completely). Flu season is among us. It is time to take your vitamins, cover your mouth, wash your hands, and get vaccinated. We are going to take a further look into what flu season looks like for Americans this year.

What is new in this 2019-2020 season?

Flu strains are constantly mutating and altering their RNA genome due to the inability of RNA dependent RNA polymerase to edit and correct the mistakes and mutations after transcription. This makes the strain of each season difficult to predict; however, with great research scientists attempt to provide the most accurate protection from the virus. According to the information provided by the CDC article, the flu vaccine this year is quadrivalent, meaning it has protection against 4 strains of the virus. 2 of the 4 strands have been updated since the last year’s vaccine. The four strands include:

• A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus (updated)
• A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus (updated)
• B/Colorado/06/2017-like (Victoria lineage) virus
• B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (Yamagata lineage) virus

How effective is the flu vaccine this season?

The effectiveness of a flu vaccine is dependent on many factors. The match between the vaccine and the circulating strains in the environment is crucial in determining the effectiveness of a vaccine. A close match is ideal, but even a sub-optimal match provides a greatly reduced risk of developing the flu, hospitalization, or even death. This occurs because antibodies are built up against parts of the flu virus that can protect you from other similar strains. The effectiveness of this years vaccine, according to the The Medical Letter summary of this years flu season, is 47% overall, 61% in children 6 months- 17 years old, and 24% in adults of 50 years and older.

“Imagine the action of a vaccine not just in terms of how it affects a single body, but also in terms of how it affects the collective body of a community.”

Eula Biss, author of On Immunity

Herd immunity as described by Eula Bliss above, is crucial in protecting high-risk populations from receiving a virus that could potentially kill those with compromised immune systems including little children, elders, and those in low socioeconomic classes. without access to health care. When you decide to get the flu shot, you are also deciding to take care of your community and protect those around you.